Eastwards - Where - Romania

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ROMANIA

How to get to Romania?

Economic information and foreign trade

Legal framework

Official papers

Cultural heritage and gastronomy

Public holidays

State

Official name: Romania
Area: 237 500 km²
Administrative divisions: Romania is divided into four main historical provinces with no political power: Transilvania (including Banat), Moldova, Oltenia and Dobrogea.
The country is divided into 41 territorial-administrative units: 40 counties and the capital city, Bucuresti.

Cities:

Bucuresti (2 354 510 people), economical and political center of Romania, concentrating half of all foreign investments in Romania

Constanta (350 581 people), largest port on the Black Sea

Iasi (346 525 people), capital of the historic province of Moldova

Timisoara (334 115 people), the second economical center, known as the “Romanian Silicon Valley “

Cluj (328 602 people), cultural center of Transilvania

Population

Population: 21,6 million inhabitants
In the past ten years, Romania has lost nearly 1 million inhabitants. This diminution was largely due to the negative growth rate and negative balance of emigration.
Ethnic groups: Romanian 89,5%, Hungarian 6,6%, Roma (2,5%), Other (1,4%)
Official language: Link to the language page

Religion:
Orthodox 86.7% , Catholic (4,7%), Reformed (3,2%), and other 5,4%

Currency:

Official currency: Romanian Lei (ROL)
Exchange rate: 1 EURO = 36 332 ROL (rolling-last update 21.02.03)

Politics

Political system: Parliamentary democracy
President: Ion Iliescu
Prime Minister: Adrian Nastase
Political parties: The Social Democratic Party has dominated post-communist politics at national and local levels between 1989 and 1996, and it won the largest number of Parliament seats in the November 2000 election. The PSD is largely composed of former communists, and its support remains strongest among older voters and rural workers. However, its policies have moved towards the social-democratic centre under the direction of the incoming prime minister and new party chairman, Mr. Nastase. The PSD is committed to securing Romanian membership of NATO and the EU.
The Greater Romania Party is a left-wing party with a nationalist leader, Corneliu Vadim Tudor. The growth of support for the ultra-nationalist PRM appears to have been encouraged by years of economic decline and Romania's poor international standing. PRM advocates anti-Hungarian and anti-Semitic policies, the return of former Romanian territories, and the renationalisation of industry.
Democratic Party owes its votes to its charismatic leader, Traian Basescu, former Minister of Transport and mayor of Bucuresti. PD is a center-wing party.
The National Liberal Party is one of the so-called historic parties which has had a moderate success after the 1989 Revolution and was seldom torn by interior disagreement of party leaders. This party is supported by the so-called great industrialists of the post-communist era.
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania is a key factor on the Romanian political scene. The UDMR is divided between a more militant faction led by Bishop Laszlo Tokes, which has advocated territorial and political autonomy—anathema to most Romanians—and a more moderate faction led by Marko Bela, which emphasises cultural and educational rights for the Hungarian minority.
National minorities’ organisations each have also one mandate in the Parliament.
Elections: Next elections for Presidency in 2004
Next elections for Parliament in 2004

Climate

Climate Moderate continental climate, colder in the mountain areas, but also maritime climate alongside the Black Sea coast.
Average temperature Annual average temperature between 2 and 11 degrees Celsius.
The average temperature ranges from -3 to -5 degrees Celsius in January and 22 to 24 degrees Celsius in July.

Time zone

Romania is two hours ahead of standard GMT, one hour ahead of Central and Western Europe.

How to get to Romania?

By plane

Bucuresti: direct flights to all major European cities by TAROM. Other airlines operating from Bucuresti: Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich), Austrian Airlines (Vienna), KLM (Amsterdam), Air France (Paris), Swiss Airlines (Zurich), Alitalia (Milan, Rome), British Airways (London), Lot (Warsaw), Malev (Budapest), Czech Airlines (Prague), Air Moldova (Chisinau), Olympic Airways (Athens), Hemus Air (Sofia).

Constanta: charter flights to Germany by TAROM, or from Bucuresti by train or car

Iasi: no international flights, only via Bucuresti Baneasa airport, or from Bucuresti by train

Timisoara: the second most important airport; many international flights (Italy, Germany, USA) by TAROM are operated through Timisoara; also direct flights to Vienna by Austrian Airlines; direct flights to Italy and Germany by Carpatair; daily flights to Budapest by MALEV

Cluj: TAROM operates three flights per week to Vienna and Bologna and four flights per week for Frankfurt. Daily flights to Budapest through CARPATAIR. Through its Cluj-Napoca - Timisoara flight, Carpatair provides a direct link to all its destinations from the hub in Timisoara: Bologna, Treviso, Bergamo, Verona, Florence, Rome, Munich and, starting in March 2003, Stuttgart.

If you travel to Transilvania and Banat (northwestern part of Romania)- Cluj, Oradea, Târgu Mures, Satu Mare, Baia Mare, Timisoara, Arad- your can also also fly in Budapest, and drive to one of these cities. Railway connections between Budapest and Oradea, Cluj are regular and comfortable. There are also minibuses which drive from the Budapest airport to Transylvanian towns for reasonable prices. If going to Timisoara, another option is to fly into Belgrade which is only 2,5 hours drive away. On the other hand, railway connections between Belgrade and Timisoara are rather uncomfortable and trains arrive with great delays.

By car

If you are coming from Western Europe, you can reach Bucuresti by driving via Nurnberg-Vienna-Budapest, then continue to Kecskemét-Deva-Sebes-Pitesti-Bucuresti.
If your destination is Timisoara, from Budapest head towards Szeged, enter the country at Nadlac and continue to Arad, and then Timisoara.

Driving distance Bucuresti-major European cities

	Km	Driving time (hours)
Amsterdam	2 202	23,5
Belgrade	603	7,5
Berlin	1 650	20
Bratislava	995	12,5
Brussels	2 158	23
Budapest	797	10,5
Copenhagen	2 041	25,5
Frankfurt	1 762	19,5
Ljubljana	1 135	13
London	2 478	27
Munich	1 447	17
Paris	2 285	24
Prague	1 308	15,5
Rome	1 881	20
Sofia	398	5
Vienna	1 036	13
Vilnius	1 397	17
Warsaw	1 157	15,5
Zagreb	996	11,5

Infrastructure:

The present road network includes only 114 km of highway (Bucuresti-Pitesti, and Cernavoda-Fetesti).

Do not underestimate driving time in Romania. Romania's road infrastracture, one of the poorest in Central and Eastern European, is inadequate under the current conditions, when total traffic on main Romanian roads has increased by about 60 percent and international traffic by about 300 percent compared to the beginning of the 90's. To improve the existing situation, Romania has obtained loans from multilateral lending institutions to construct the following highways:

Bucuresti-Cernavoda

Bucuresti-Brasov

Nadlac (border with Hungary) -Lugoj-Timisoara-Deva

Bucuresti-Giurgiu (border with Bulgaria)-modernization (5 lanes)

The railway network is quite extensive, but only 33% of the railway network is electrified. The rail link between Bucuresti and the other main cities (Timisoara, Cluj) can be reasonably fast, but plane connections are much more advisable. Although the train is one of the cheapest and most popular means of transport in Romania, trains can be a very slow and uncomfortable means of transportation around the country, especially on short distances.

The international flights system operates efficiently through the Bucuresti Otopeni International airport, which offers direct flights to all major European cities. Bucuresti is also the internal flights hub, and many of the international flights are operated through some Transilvanian cities (Sibiu, Brasov, Cluj, Timisoara).

The second most important air hub is Timisoara which is well conected especially with Italy and Germany, it offers also four times a week flights to New York.

Cluj airport is the third most important international airport. It has direct connections to Frankfurt, Vienna, Bologna and daily flights to Timisoara and Bucuresti.

The biggest sea port is Constanta which is also a free trade area. More than 60% of Romania's exports and imports are handled through Constanta, and considerable investments are made for developing the Constanta Sud (South) harbour.

The Danube stretches over 1 075 km in Romania and river traffic is almost exclusively done on this river.

Wages:

Average gross salary (2001): 204 EUR

Average net wage for a manual labourer: 75 EUR

Average net wage for economist leaving university: 150-200 EUR

There are great variations in the income and wage level between Romania’s regions. Bucuresti, the capital, which has absorbed most of the foreign investments has much higher wages (100-200%), and generally people working in foreign companies expect to earn a few times more the average Romanian salary. Timisoara and Cluj are among the top wage earners, whereas in Iasi and the entire eastern Romania and partially in the south, the wages are quite low. Therefore when looking for staff, it is important not to pay exuberant wages, as they will not motivate your local staff at all, but on the other hand beware not to pay too low wages, as they will without doubt demotivate your local staff. Eastwards takes care of your recruitment of local top management, sales and financial management or specialists, and will consult you which wage packages are most suitable for the job responsabilities and place of employment you offer.

Economic information

	2000	2001
Inflation	45,7%	34,5%
Real GDP growth rate (change to previous year)	1,8%	5,3%
GDP per capita	1 800 EUR	2000 EUR
Unemployment	7%	6,6%

Trade with Germany

	2001	Percentage of the total
Exports to DE	1 781 mil.USD	15,66%
Imports from DE	2 356 mil. USD	15,15%

Trade with UK

	2001	Percentage of the total
Export to UK	586 mil. USD	5,15%
Imports from UK	539 mil. USD	3,47%

Trade with the Netherlands

	2001	Percentage of the total
Exports to NL	386 mil. USD	3,4%
Imports from NL	322 mil. USD	2%

Trade with Belgium

	2001	Percentage of the total
Exports to BE	193 mil. USD	1,7%
Imports from BE	256 mil. USD	1,65%

Trade with EU

	2001	Percentage of the total
Export to EU	7720,1 mil. USD	67,8%
Imports from EU	8918,4 mil. USD	57,3%

Legal framework for doing business in Romania - types of companies

Joint Stock Company - Societate pe Actiuni (S.A.)
Limited Liability Company - Societate cu Raspundere Limitata (S.R.L.)
Limited Partnership - Societate în Comandita Simpla (S.C.S.)
General Partnership - Societate în Nume Colectiv (S.N.C.)
Limited Joint Stock Company - Societate în Comandita pe Actiuni (S.C.A)

For further information on establishing a company in Romania, please contact us.

Official documents

International passport needed for entering the country, you will be controlled at the border. EU nationals do not need a visa for entering the country.

Cultural heritage & gastronomy

Romania has very harmonious physical features: 31% of Romania's surface is covered by mountains, 33% by hills and tablelands, and 35% by plains. It has a symmetrical geographical structure which includes the Carpathians mountain range studded with ski resorts (Poiana Brasov, Predeal, Sinaia), the Transylvanian basin, and Western and Wallachian Plain. In the south-eastern part of Romania the Black Sea coast stretches over 255 km and it is the main tourist attraction during the summer season. In the northeast of Romania lies the Danube Delta (Delta Dunarii), a special tourist attraction, a reservation of the biosphere with millions of birds from different places of Earth (the polar zone, the South of Africa, Asia, West Europe and the Mediterranean sea side) which periodically stop here or in transit.

Apart from the capital city, the most interesting cities to visit are in Transylvania and Banat, which have an interesting cultural heritage mixing Hungarian, German and Romanian influences. The northeastern part of the country, Moldova, is famous for its vineyards (Cotnari, Bucium, Odobesti) and for its numerous Orthodox monasteries. The 2000 years-old Murfatlar vineyard near Constanta, is also very famous for its wine which is appreciated all around the world.

Historic cities: Brasov, Bucuresti, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi
Smaller historic places: Sighisoara, Sibiu, Sinaia, Oradea
Castles: Peles Castle, Bran Castle, Huniazi Castle, Fagaras Citadel
Nature: Delta Dunarii, Black Sea coast, Carpathians Mountains

Gastronomy

Romanian cuisine is rich and substantial, meat specialities being the most important part of a meal, especially pork meat. A typical Romanian meal would include “ciorba” (soup with vegetables and meat), meat with potatoes or other vegetables, bread. Romanian specialties include “mititei” (grilled sausages), tocanita (stew), mamaliga (palenta), sarmale (cabbage rolls of minced meat and rice).

"Tuica", the local plum brandy, is often served as digestive. A wide range of both red and white wine is on offer from the famous vineyards of Murfatlar, Jidvei, Cotnari, Valea Calugareasca, Dealu Mare, and Odobesti.

Prices

Regional price differences exist as well. The capital and the major cities are more expensive than the rest of the country.

	LEI	EUR
bread	6 000	0.16
0,5 l of beer	20 000	0,57
1 cup of coffee	30 000	0,85
1 bottle of wine	70 000	2
1 liter of milk	16 000	0,45
1 kg of chicken meat	100 000	2,85
1 liter of petrol	27 000	0,75
1 liter of diesel oil	15 000	0,39
Taxi services	10 000/km	0,2
Average cost of meal		10
Real estate/m2		300-350
1 movie ticket	30 000	0,85
Average cost of lodging		50

Safety

Romania is incredibly safe for those employing common sense precautions. You should be aware of the pickpocketers and bag snatchers in crowded places, buses, near exchange offices, bus stops, subway. Changing money on the street is illegal and should be avoided. Do not stop to hitchhikers! It’s advisable to drink bottled water. Always park in well lighted, guarded parking places. Street beggars are a common site in bigger cities.

Working hours

Public institutions	08.00 - 14.00 (weekdays)
Romanian companies	07.30 -15.30 (weekdays) 08.00 -16.00 08 -12/13 (Saturdays)
Foreign companies	09.00 -17/18.00
Banks	09.00 - 14/16.00 (weekdays)
Department stores	08 -18/19 (weekdays) 09 -13/14 (Saturdays)
Shops (grocery stores)	07/08 - 20/22 (weekdays and Saturdays) or non-stop
Shopping centres, hypermarkets	09 - 20 (weekdays and Saturdays) 09 - 13 (Sundays)

Public holidays

	2004
New Year’s Holidays	January, 1st - 2nd
Epiphany	January, 6th
Good Friday	April, 9th
Easter Monday	April, 12th
Labour Day	May, 1st - 2nd
National Day	December, 1st
Christmas Holidays	December, 25th - 26th

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